SPECIAL CITATION ON

CHIEF (DR) EMMANUEL IWUANYANWU

PRESENTED ON THE OCCASION OF CONFERMENT ON HIM

OF THE HONORARY DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF SCIENCE (DC) BY

IMO STATE UNIVERSITY, OWERRI, NIGERIA

(SATURDAY 4TH MAY 2009)

Mine is no enviable lot: to introduce to this August assembly a pre-eminent figure requiring no introduction anywhere in the enlightened world, let alone in his own homestead; and moreover, to strive to reduce an epic deserving volumes of fat books into a mere five-minute narrative. You might as well presume to write the world on the back of a potage stamp! Ladies and gentlemen, it is my singular honour to present to you the Aha-Eji-Aga-Mba Ndigunwa of Ibadan land, the maiyegun of Idoka, Osun State, the Iniserere of Aramoko land Ekiti, Ondo State, the Obong Unwana Efik-Eburutu of Calabar, Chief. (Dr) Emmanuel Chukwuemeka Iwuanyanwu.

Given his unusual brilliance after his secondary school education in Onitsha, the young Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu was admitted into the Federal Emergency School of science in Lagos where he studied pure mathematics, applied mathematics, physics and chemistry. Thereafter he gained admission to read Civil Engineering at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, as a Federal Government Scholar. Characteristically emerging as the best overall first year student of Engineering, he was awarded the German Academic Exchange Scholarship. One of the first Africans to win that particularly prestigious award. That exceptional brilliance remains the subject of our gathering her today as Imo State University joins at least seven other Universities in Nigeria and the United States pay tribute to excellence in the form of an award of the doctorate degree to chief Iwuanyanwu.

Engineer, industrialist, humanist, philanthropist, politician, statesman, patron of the arts and sports, patriot, hero with a thousand beautiful faces, chief (Dr) Iwuanyanwu has demonstrated remarkable entrepreneurship and sheer genius with a scope that incorporates virtually every legitimate filed of human endeavour: engineering, agriculture, publishing, banking insurance, advertising, industries, sports, air and sea transportation, politics. Chief Iwuanyanwu is chairman Hardel & Enic (Nig) Ltd, Chairman Magil industries Ltd, Chairman Enic Advertising and Marketing research Company Nigeria, Iwuanyanwu Holdings & properties Ltd, Chairman Sunrise Insurance Brokers, Chairman Sunrise Breweries Ltd, proprietor Iwuanyanwu Nationale Football Club Ltd, proprietor Magil Agriculture & Animal health products Ltd, Chairman & Founder Iwuanyanwu Foundation, Executive Chairman/publisher Champions newspapers Ltd, Chairman oriental Airlines Ltd, Chairman Oriental shipping Ltd. An individual can hardly be more endowed.

Typical, Chief Iwuanyanwu meditates on every human possession as a divine gift and considers the creation of love, peace and happiness for human as the greatest use one can put God’s gift to. Chief Iwuanyanwu has therefore appropriated his enormous material resources for the service of humankind in his bid to extend the human frontier and to transform the weave and texture of our common lives. He has made voluntary contributions worth over two hundred million naira in providing roads, schools, water, hospitals, scholarships, charity homes, and in enumerable other humanitarian ventures, including the ultra modern Blood transfusion Centre which he built, furnished and donated to the Imo State Government on 11 November, 1985. Perhaps, it is only to be expected that Chief Iwuanyanwu should be one of the most decorated and honoured philanthropist in human history.

Chief Iwuanyanwu has received awards from well over seventy different national organization s, academic, religious, social political, cultural, professional, humanitarian. The expected culmination was on 1st October 1981, when the president of Nigeria awarded to Chief Iwuanyanwu the national honour of the distinguished order of member of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; on 12th November, 1882, he had conferred on him the order of Long leaf Pine Extra Ordinary by the Governor of State of North Carolina, USA; August 1991, Africa/US Leadership Award by the Africa/US Association, Washington D. C USA; 31st December, 1991, common Wealth Life Saving Society Award for Health, Safety, Sports and Nation Building; 20th January 1992, Outstanding Leadership Achievement in Business Arena in Africa Culture Link, USA; 1st June, 1993, Chancellor, GME Christian University; 27th April, 2000, Certificate of Application Award, Don Silgelman, Governor, State of Alabama, USA; 29th April 2000, Honourary Citizen of Huntsville, Alabama, USA; 10th February, 2007, hall of Fame Award by the All-Africa Students’ Union (AASU); 23rd March 2007, Ambassador for peace Award by Universal peace Federation- An International NGO with a special Consultative status of the Economic and social Council (ECOSDOC) at United Nations. Ladies and gentlemen, need I continue?

The universities have also contributed flowers to Chief Iwuanyanwu’s magnificent garland. In march, 1983, Morgan State University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA awarded an Honorary Doctor of Science (Engineering) to Chief Iwuanyanwu; in November 1983, he received an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Shaw University Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; in December 1986, it was the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, that awarded to him an Honorary Doctor of Business Administration degree; in February 1989, the University of Jos awarded another Honorary Doctor of Science degree of him; in January 1996, the University of Calabar awarded to him yet another Honorary Doctor of Science degree; in June 1996, the Federal University of Owerri joined the illustrations list by the award of an Honorary Doctor of Technology degree to Chief Iwuanyanwu while Edo State University followed suit in 1998 with an award of an Honorary Doctor of Business Administration. Chief Iwuanyanwu has been cited in who’s who in Nigeria, who’s who in Africa, who’s in the Commonwealth and who’s in the world. He is involved as Trustee, patron, Life member, Chairman and Grand patron of over 100 associations across the globe. He is Fellow Nigerian institute of science and Technology; Fellow Nigerian society of Engineers; Fellow Institute of Management Consultants; Fellow Nigerian institute of Public Relations; Fellow Nigerian Association of Agricultural Students; Fellow Chartered Institute of Transport of Great Britain; Fellow Solar Energy of Nigeria; Fellow Nigerian Institute of Sales Management; Fellow Institute of Corporate Administration of Nigeria; Fellow Institute of Purchasing and Marketing Administration; Fellow Akanu Ibian Federal Polytechnic Unwana; Fellow the Nigerian Academy of Education; Fellow Nigerian Entrepreneurs Association. He, moreover, holds well eight important traditional titles from various ethnics groups in Nigeria. Chief Iwuanyanwu is happily married to lady Chief (Mrs.) Eudora Nnenna Iwuanyanwu and they are blessed with five responsible children.

Honourable Chancellor, Sir, your Excellencies, your Royal Highness, my Lords Spiritual and temporal, distinguishing Ladies and Gentlemen, it is in recognition of these sterling qualities, of a devoted to selfless service and the accomplishment of excellence, that it has pleased the Senate and Congregation of Imo State University Owerri, to select and recommend Chief (Dr) Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, engineer, industrialist, humanist, philanthropist, politician, statesmen, patron of the arts and sports, patriot, entrepreneur per excellence, hero with a thousand beautiful faces, for the award of Doctor of Science (DSC) Humorist causa, with all the right and privileges pertaining thereto.

Honourable Chancellor, Sir, I therefore have the singular honour to present him to you for the said Award.